A bowling club in Largs has issued a plea to local residents amid concern that falling membership numbers could threaten its future.

Douglas Park Bowling Club, which was established in 1948, only has 32 playing members at the moment. 

And there are concerns that not enough people will rejoin to ensure there's a quorum for its annual general meeting next month - something that's essential if the club is to continue.

Douglas Park itself has been a major environmental success story in recent years, and Caroline Le Good Morgan, who helped launch the Douglas Park Project and joined the bowling club two years ago, has added her support to the campaign to get bolster membership. 

Bowling club secretary Michael McGowan said: "Unfortunately due to old age and ailing health, we have lost a few members, and we would really like the people of Largs and surrounding district to help out by joining the club and getting involved.

"It is still relatively cheap, at only £35, to join the club.

"We have 32 members as it stands but we know that some of this membership is not coming back due to health reasons, and we really need to get more people involved in the club to make sure we have a healthy membership.

"There have been previous successful campaigns through the Largs and Millport Weekly News to bolster members, and we hope that we can have success again.

"We're a friendly and welcoming club, and we have lots of plans including youth programmes in the summer to get more younger people involved."

Health professionals recommend playing bowls, as it provides a number of wellness benefits, including improved fitness, improved coordination and skill development and increased confidence and self-esteem as well as enhanced mental wellbeing.

The bowling club is also licensed - and at just £2 for a pint after a game, it's a good social activity too.

Michael said: "The club has been running for many years, and given we have the success of the restoration of Douglas Park over the past three years, it would be good if people could come and join and also play a part in joining the volunteers who have maintained the park so successfully and have exciting plans for its future.

"Ideally, we would like to play an important part in that, but we absolutely need new members to get involved and join up as a priority to keep the club going in future."

Caroline Le Good Morgan added her support and said: "It is really urgent and people need to know as they might want to join to help."

For further information about getting involved with the club, contact Michael on 07565 136866.